We Got a New Home and Junk!

I have been MIA in the blogging world for a bit because I WAS MOVING INTO OUR HOUSE!

That's why!

I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it feels living in my own house. Background story for all of you not in reslife... I have lived on campus for 9 years... yup. 9 years. One year shy of a decade.

Holy smokes that is a long time.

Now, stop picturing me in a dorm room for 9 years. I was in a dorm room for the traditional 4 years (really only 3.5 since I got the hall director job early). Then I moved into a two bedroom apartment which happened to be in the dorms. Then I moved to another two bedroom apartment at a different school... but still in the dorms. (Also, any reslife people reading this are CRINGING that I am calling it "dorms").

So, alas, my time has come to join the homeowner's world.

I of course have no pictures, but I will eventually.

Favorite things about having a house (in no particular order):

1. Kitchen space. I have some now. It is fantastic. I don't have to creatively stack things in order to make sure I have all the equipment I need. I have a drawer just for plastic baggies. I find this awesome.

Also, two people can fit in my kitchen without being mistaken for bumping uglies. It is phenomenal.

2. Sam has space to PLAY! He runs through the living room, through the kitchen, through the office, all the way back around, just giggling the whole time. It is so great!

3. There is space for a recliner for me and the hubs! WHAT?! You mean I don't have to sit on the floor when guests come over??! Preposterous!

4. We can have a family meal now. We bought our dining room table the other day and it goes in our little bay window area. LOVE IT! It has a country cottage feel to it and we all fit at the table and we will be having our meals there. Every one of them.

5. Bugs. I can hear bugs now. I think this is why I found Alma so relaxing. I would "getaway" to Alma and I would hear bugs at night. There is no one yelling... no sirens... hardly the noise of cars driving by even... just bugs. And if you know me well, you know how much I must be in love with something to brag about the bugs.

6. Neighborhood walks. I can go on them now and not fear for my well being. And that may be a little misleading because it makes it sound like I've been on neighborhood walks where I used to live. I haven't.

But here, we can walk right down the middle of the street. And we do sometimes. Me, Justin, Sam, and Skipper all go on walks in the evening after dinner. We walk around the neighborhood, admire the landscaping that the neighbors are doing, listen to bugs, and just walk. It is so great.

7. Living close to family. I know a lot of people may not see this as a plus, but we do. Since I do not have the luxury of living close to my family, I have worried about Sam being close to his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I loved growing up with my cousins. We had so much fun! And I was always so close to my grandparents too.

While we may not be close to my family, we are now to Justin's. And I just love it. We can go over to their house for a swim if we want. They come over just to bring cookies for Sam (and for us, let's be honest). Johnny just shows up one day to mow the yard. We can run stuff for them, they can run stuff for us. It is just nice to be near family. I love it.

8. Proximity to friends. I will admit, this is a sore subject for me because this move put me much farther from my BFF and that is a major downside to this moving thing. But, we are closer to some friends that we have missed hanging out with because of our distance. Now we live right down the road from them and can hang out SO MUCH MORE! And they are super great people to be around anyway so this has to go on the plus list. Also, Sam and their daughter are TWO days apart! Which is fun because Justin and her dad are ONE day apart! I love coincidences like that!

9. Being a homeowner and dog owner helps me get up in the morning. It is insane. I have been wanting to get up at 5 am for so long. And then I just wouldn't do it. I have been up at 5:15 am every morning so far and it hasn't been hard. I just get up, take the dog for a walk, shower, coffee and quiet time, make Justin's lunch, get Sam ready, then it is off to work I go! And it hasn't bothered me.

10. Not to get all mushy or anything, but we finally have a home. This is where Sam will grow up. This is where we will make so many memories. It is just nice to have a HOME that is your OWN. I am so thankful for my many years living on campus. It has impacted me in ways I couldn't even begin to understand. But the time has come for me to move on and I just couldn't be more in love with our little house.